PRINCIPLES OF SEED PRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Seed is a key element in crop production and all cultural practices are meant to exploit to the full, the potential of the seed sown

Definition of seed:

- It is a ripened ovule containing an embryonic or a resting embryo plant surrounded by a seed coat and may or may not have an endosperm

- A mature ovule consisting of an embryonic plant together with a store of food, all surrounded by a protective coat

Gymnosperms vs angiosperms: Gymnosperms - produce naked seeds that develop from naked ovules e.g conifers bear seeds in pairs at the base of the scales of cones.Angiosperms – seeds develop within an ovary (fruit).

The Green Revolution and use of hybrids; their contribution to increased yield an the need to use high level inputs. Traditionally farmers use retained seed (OPVs for maize). Retained can be used for some crops / varieties, but there is need to select the seed. Selection can start in the field.

Major maize seed production areas: Glendale, Bindura, Shamva and Enterprise. Basically seed production is in Natural regions IIa and IIb.

Seed co produces the largest quantities ( 95% of the market share)

PROPERTIES OF GOOD QUALITY SEED- Seed must be true to type i.e. seed must give rise to plants which develop

the same characteristics as their parents- Free of other crop seeds, weed seeds and inert material i.e. the seed should

have a high % of physical purity- High germination capacity –Capable of vigorous germination able to

produce normally developed seedlings - Free from pests and diseases- Uniform in shape and size: seed should be graded.

TYPES OF HYBRID SEED

Single cross or single hybrid:- hybrid obtained from a cross between two inbred-lines- these are high yielding, but have limited adaptability

Double cross hybrids / double hybrids:- obtained from a cross between two single crosses.

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3- way hybrids/crosses- obtained from a cross between a single cross and an inbred line- have wide adaptability ; medium level yields but can reach 10t/ha

with optimum conditions and top management.

Top-cross hybrid: obtained from a cross between a single cross or an inbred line and an OPV

Varietal cross: obtained from a cross between two OPVs.

Open –Pollinated variety (OPV): A heterogeneous variety of a cross-pollinated crop that is allowed to inter-pollinate freely during seed production.

Inbred line: A relatively true-breeding strain obtained from at least five successive generations of regulated self-fertilization or back-crossing to a recurrent parent. (Singh, 1988)

True breeding cvs that result from enforced self pollination of selected parent plants followed by continued selection of to a desired type in succeeding generations.. Once a desired cv of this type has been selected, it is maintained by growing plants in isolation and allowing them to cross-pollinate or self-pollinate naturally.

Pure line: - Group of plants that have nearly the same homozygous genotype and that breed true.

- A strain which all members of have descended by self-pollination from a single homozygous individual

is genetically pure (homozygous) e.g inbred lines inbred lines are maintained by self or sib

pollinations

A genetically pure strain in which all individuals have descended by self-fertilization, from a single homozygous individuals (Singh, 1988).

A population of self-pollinated plants that have been selected to a standard by eliminating off-type plants and fixing the characters of the cultivar through consecutive generations of self-pollination.(All descendants are from a single homozygous plant).

Synthetic /composite line: Is composed of plants produced by combining a number of

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genetically distinct, but phenotypically similar lines which have been allowed to cross-pollinate at random.

COMPONENTS OF/STAGES IN THE SEED INDUSTRY1. Plant breeding2. Cultivar assessment3. *Multiplication 4. *Processing(drying, storage, packaging)5. *Marketing and procurement6. *Control (Legislation, certification and testing)7. Quarantine8. Extension

* - main components of the seed production technology

GENERAL SEED PRODUCTION PRACTICES

Agronomy of seed crop production differs little from that of ‘ordinary’ crop (commercial crop). However with seed production, special attention should be paid to:

i) Isolation of seed fieldsii) Nature of preceding cropiii) Origin of seed sourceiv) Roguing (and weed control)v) Detasseling /emasculation of the male plantvi) Fertilizer application and measures to control insect pests and diseases.vii) Sowing rates; planting pattern/arrangements viii) Moisture content at harvesting and storage is criticalix) Supplementary irrigation a must.

Major maize seed production areas are in regions IIa and IIb. Glendale, Bindura, Shamva, Enterprises, (potato in Nyanga).

a) Isolation of seed crop(maintains genetic purity)

The seed crop should be isolated from all likely sources of cross contamination or admixture.Isolation can be effected by i) distance and /or ii) time

Distance Isolation

- The minimum isolation distance required depends on whether the crop is i) cross-or self-pollinated; and ii) wind or insect pollinated

a) Self-pollinated crops/cultivars do not normally require isolation but seed fields must be must be separated by a few metres (minimum of 3

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metres) from the fields growing crops of the same spp to prevent any possible varietal admixture at time of harvest.Examples of self-pollinated crops: rice, groundnut, soyabean, wheat, barley, cowpea

b) Cross-pollinated crops (isolation is more critical)E.g: in hybrid maize seed production: the minimum isolation distance for a single-cross or three-way hybrid crop is 360m from another maize crop. This can be reduced to a minimum of 150m plus 14 border rows of the male parent, planted on the contaminated side (see table below)

Table 1: Distance isolation requirements for maize (Zimbabwe):

Single-cross, top-cross or 3-way hybrid (minimum distance in m)

Double cross or varietal or OP cultivar (minimum distance in m)

Minimum number of border rows

360 240 0 345 230 1330 220 2315 210 3300 200 4285 190 5270 180 6255 170 7240 160 8225 150 9210 140 10195 130 11180 120 12165 110 13150 100 14

Note: It is expensive to grow male lines as border rows, hence minimum distance without border rows are the more common practice.

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Isolation requirements for other certified seedCrop Minimum

distance from any certified crop of the same variety(m)

Minimum distance from any uncertified crop of the variety or any other variety of the same kind(m)

Minimum distance from any other variety of the same kind where there is a difference of >4 weeks in time of flowering(m)

BarleyBeansCowpeasGroundnutsOatsRiceSorghumsSoyaSunflowerVelvet- beanWheat

3333333380033

3333332001008003003

33310033100380033

source: Copeland & McDonald, 1995

Wind vs insect pollinated plants: The former require shorter distances than the latter. For example: Isolation distance for certified seed of millets(cross-pollinated by insects) is 200m and that of grasses (wind pollinated) is 50 m.

Temporal /Time isolation:

- One crop is grown and timed to flower before other crops reach the reproductive stage

- its advantage over distance isolation is that two crops can be grown/planted side by side and, therefore, facilitates seed production by small farms(no big requirement for distance isolation)

- Requires irrigation facilities- There is no pressure for labor among different crop fields. Pea demand for labor is

spread. Example: maizei) A single cross hybrid SC 701 commercial crop planted first, followed by an SC 701

seed crop planted 29 days later; the two crops must be separated by at least 10 barrier (border rows). Thus the two crops can be separated by about 10 m instead of

about 163m (150 m plus 14 border rows). The approach is risky, 29 days may be too short, smaller commercial plants may result in late pollen shading.

ii) An SC 701 seed crop planted first, followed by an SC 701 commercial crop planted 40 days later and the two crops must be separated by 10 male barrier rows.

Possible reason for the above scenario ( more days required when seed crop is planted first than when it is planted second ) is the faster growth of the hybrid commercial crop

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compared to that of the seed parents in seed production. The latter don’t have much vigour as the commercial hybrid.

- Time isolation can also be used where wind prevails and distance isolation does not work

b) Roguing: - Constant rouging/removal of off-type plants(rogues) is necessary as these may

cross-pollinate normal plants. They must be removed before flowering and whole plants must be removed).

- Off-types may be produced because of presence of some recessive genes in the variety at the time of release or they may arise by mutation. They may also grow as volunteer plants if the same crop or variety is grown in previous year or there had been mechanical mixtures due to use of same equipment.

c) Nature of preceding crop.- Avoid growing a crop after a similar one (same spp).- If same crop was grown previously, irrigate the field at least 3 weeks before

sowing to allow germination of seeds from previous crop and then destroy the arising plants during seed prep for current crop.

Note: it is risky to plant a seed crop in a field that was planted to same crop in the previous season. Not all seeds from previous crop may germinate. Therefore the recommended practice to shun the practice.

d) Origin of seed source (control of seed)- Multiplication of seed material from an appropriate source/class viz breeders,

foundation or certified seed is essential.

e) Planting patterns/arrangements- Rows for easy of rouging and harvesting- Sufficient male lines must be sown to allow enough pollen to be produced at the

right time to fertilize all the female/seed plants.- The planting pattern of seed (female) and pollen (male) plants should be uniform

over the whole field, but different planting patterns may be used in different fields.

- Example maize: Planting arrangements commonly used for single cross and 3-way hybrid seed production are 4:2; 3:1 0r 6:2 for female to male rows. For double hybrids (single cross A X Single cross B) a ratio of 6: 2 or 8:2 is commonly used.

- Ratio chosen =f ( harvesting easy of the male lines; ease of pollination; type of hybrid produced). E.g;

* Inbreds do not produce much pollen – hence lower female: male ratio for single hybrids compared to double cross hybrids.

* Double cross – have high hybrid vigour single cross parents and with a 8:2 ratio, enough pollen is shed

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Double cross hybrids are produced from parents, which are already hybrids and therefore uniform. There is in uniformity in pollen shading by the male parent plants and this results in efficient pollination

* Humid/wet weather – not conducive to pollination and therefore, a 6:2 and 8:2 ratios may result in poor pollination (un-pollinated middle rows).The 3:1 is the most effective, but has a disadvantage that male rows cannot be harvested by machine.Where two male rows are used, planting of these rows is staggered to increase the chances of effective pollination in case there is for e.g poor weather conditions.

- Timing of the planting of female and male lines is such that pollen shading and silking coinicide (synchronization betweenpollen shedding and silking). Timing of planting for each of the parent plants is dependent on the characteristics of the parents in question – female may be planted first (earlier) or vice versa.

f) Detasseling /emasculation of the female plant

- Removal of the immature tassels from the female parents- Done to prevent self pollination of the female (seed) parents- A common practice in hybrid seed maize production - Done by pulling the emerging tassels by hand or special machines (before they

start shedding pollen). Care must be taken to make sure that leaves (top leaves) are not removed in the process) as this has an adverse effect on the seed yield.

- At the time of flowering it is necessary to inspect the seed crop and remove tassels from the female plants (suckers/tillers must also be removed)

Note:* in other crops emasculation to remove the anthers from female parents is normally done for high value seed/ or ornamentals. The process is cumbersome. In maize it is easy to detassel since the crop has male flowers on their own. Tassel large enough to be removed easily.

*Detasseling or emasculation to remove the anthers can be avoided by using male-sterile female parents e.g in sorghum, tobacco and sunflower. The use of Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS) in maize hybrid production was discontinued following southern corn leaf blight (Helminthosporium maydis) epidermic in USA in 1970. the Texas (T) type of CMS, in use that time was very susceptible to H. maydis.

g) Fertilizer application and measures to control insect pests and diseases.

- High levels of fertilizer management are required to maximize yield and quality.

- Need for soil analysis (ph, types & rates of fertilizers.- Placement and timing are critical- Application of sodium molybdate to maize seed crops is essential.- Mo is a micro-nutrient (i.e. it is required in very small quantities). It is a

component of the reductase enzyme system

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- Deficiency leads to inability of plants to breakdown nitrates, leading to nitrate toxicity ( leaf firing’ seedling mortality and seed germination on the cob).

- Mo deficiencies have been reported in the red fersiallitic soils of the Zimbabwean Highveld, at pH below 4.8.

- To ensure Mo sufficiency, in maize crops, the seed maize should contain an adequate amount of Mo.

- Stipulated Mo content under the seed certification scheme is 0.083 ppm; thus all seed maize samples are tested for Mo content before a certification certificate is issued. (A very expensive test done by the Soil Productivity And Research Laboratory at Marondera research station. One sample is tested for each field. If seed passes the Mo test it is treated with Captasan super, but if it is does not pass the test, it is treated with Captasan 15 Mo. It is cheaper to apply sodium molybdate to the seed crop than to treat the seed with Captasan15Mo. The seed crop is sprayed with sodium molybdate (150 kg /ha) at eight weeks after planting, to ensure adequate Mo levels in the seed. All foundation seed is treated with Captasan 30Mo.

-Effective pest and disease control should be ensured. Crop should be free or within the tolerance level of seed borne diseases. (See section on field inspection).

CERTIFICATION AND LEGILISLATION:

Seed Certification: A program to maintain and make available to the public/farmers high quality seeds and propagating materials of genetically distinct crops.

Certified seed is produced by registered farmers and/or seed producers using careful, quality control, pedigreed planting stock, field inspections during the growing season and inspections following harvesting.Certification and legislation have made it possible to maintain varietal identity of the seed on the market.

In Zimbabwe the Seed Certification Scheme is administered by the Seed Services Section of the Department of Agricultural Research and Extension (AREX) – Ministry of Agriculture – They are the certifying authority.

The Generation Scheme of Certification

- Seed multiplication starts with cultivars acceptable to the certifying authority (the cultivars should be distinct, uniform and *stable)

- The pedigree of superior crop varieties is maintained through subsequent seed production

- In Zimbabwe, a 3- generation scheme exists (Each generation is normally identified by a special tag colour)

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Stability: In relation to any variety of seed means stable in the sense that it retains distinctive characteristics with reasonable degree of reliability or to a degree comparable to other subdivisions of the same kind when reproduced or in the case of a hybrid, when reconstituted.

Generation 1: Breeder’s seed (Varietal development-Plant breeding)

o Seed, which is produced by or under the direct supervision of the plant breeder and represents the true pedigree of the variety. (It is genetically purest seed stock obtained from breeding devices where all the genetic characters are kept under full control and it becomes the source of multiplication for foundation and then certified seeds – Singh, 1988).

o Available in small quantitieso Planted to produce foundation seedo In the case of hybrid sorghum and sunflower, it may be the source

of for the production of certified seed.

Generation 2: Foundation seed o First generation seed from breeder seed o (It the second category of seed in order of genetic purity multiplied

from breeders’ seed under strict supervision and complete enforcement of seed production technique.

o Its production is limited to selected growers by the inspector (government inspectors)

o Available in limited quantities

Generation 3: Certified seedo Can be produced from breeder, foundation or certified seed.

Certified seed is only eligible for re-certification if permission is obtained from the inspector

o It represents the final product of the certification programmeo Available in large quantitieso Sold to the “public” farmers for general / commercial crop

production.

Field Inspections and advice (Certification in the field)

These are carried out by inspectors of both seed certifying authority and certifying agency or seed association.

The frequency and purpose of inspections vary from crop to crop; the frequency may also depend on cultivar/kind concerned and generation level.

- A minimum of 4 visits in general, but for maize the minimum is 5.

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Purpose of field visits:a) To confirm details on the application forms including correct location of the seed

field.

b) To check for off-types and/ or volunteer plants. Timed in such a way that at the time of inspections, varietal off-types and other crop and weed contamination are easily detected

The number of off-types in a crop should not exceed the maximum permitted in each class (foundation, certified).

c) To check on crop husbandry. Crop to show evidence of good husbandry.d) To check on diseases. Crop to be free or within the tolerance of seed-borne diseases

as laid down for each class of seed. E.g. In wheat the seed tolerance levels for smut is 0.2% smut cover and for sugar-beans it is 0.1% bacterial wilt and anthracnose (levels are as at final inspection).

e) Check on emasculation, planting pattern, harvesting of male lines etc; check on pollen control –are there any pollination sources within the prescribed isolation distances?

Example: Field inspection for hybrid maize:

- Minimum of five inspections- On average 12-16 inspections.

a) Once before pollinationb) Once during pollination

- to check on thoroughness of detasseling of the female lines(seed or parent plants); roguing of off-type plants;

c) At pre-harvest of the seed/parent plants- check on complete harvesting of male parent and to authorize

harvesting of the seed parent.- Male parents to be harvested by end of May.- Seed parent crop should not contain > 0.1% off-type plants at the

final field inspection.

d) At least one inspection of the harvested ears of the seed parent plants. (cob diseases, insect damage, off-type colour seed etc.

e) At least one inspection of the seed harvested from the ears

- check for grading- take samples for quality and germination tests

Note: At each visit, the seed crop must comply with the field standards.

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Certification of the seed lot /Seed Inspection

- Inspection done (to ensure good quality) at harvesting, threshing, cleaning, conditioning and bagging- Final certification is based on the official sample drawn by the inspector and tested for purity and germination

[Purity – Physical purity e.g. noxious weed content]

SEED LEGISLATION

- Government legislation pertaining to seed- Must be applied in the strictest sense to protect the seed industry as

a whole and protect the purchaser/user of the seed.- Certified seed is a guarantee to the purchaser that the seed is of the

highest possible standards.- The seller must disclose certain essential facts about the quality of

the seed he is selling.

1. Zimbabwe Seeds Act, 1965- It is limited or applies to important agricultural seeds e.g. grain,

vegetable and grass seeds.- The act consolidated seed quality through:

i) the registration of sellers of seedii) introduction of a seed certification or approved seed scheme iii) Control of the import and export of seed.iv) Registration of seed testing laboratories

2. The seed regulations, 1971

The seeds Act gives powers enabling the Minister of Agriculture to make regulations by which objectives of the Act may be achieved. The Minister of Agriculture issued the seed regulations with set rules on the following:

i) Requirements for importing, exporting and selling seedsii) Standards for purity analysis (physical, genetic)iii) Determination of prohibited weed seed and other crop seed)iv) Standards for germination tests (physiological purity)v) Materials and conditions for germination testsvi) Seed sampling (how, how much)vii) Fees for registration and testingviii) Forms used for reporting results etc

3. The seeds (Certification scheme) Notice, 1971

- Issued concurrently with the Seed Regulations- It established rules for seed multiplication under the certification scheme

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The seed certifying authority is the Ministry of Agriculture (seed services) Growers to register with the seed certifying authority Seed to be registered Field to be registered Crop cultivar for multiplication to be recognized as a distinct cultivar to be

eligible for certification Seed crop to be inspected

Conditions governing the registration

Grower cannot register more than one variety or strain of the same kind unless permission is granted by the inspector.

Maize:- Grower should successfully complete 3 years under probation

under strict supervision before qualifying (getting a license) as a competent seed producer.

- Beginner’s quota is 1000 and 3000, 50kg bags for single and 3-way crosses respectively (may exceed quota by 20%)

4. The plant breeder’s rights Act., 1973

- Enables persons or organizations to protect crop cultivars bred either within or outside Zimbabwe.

- When rights have been granted for a cultivar, the recipients of the rights or license are the only persons permitted to sell seed of the cultivar.(licenses are issued for a period of 20 years)

- Licensing authority is the Registrar of the Plant Breeders’ rights i.e. Seed Services Unit.

- Allows breeder/institution to reap financial benefits/rewards from the exclusive sale of a cultivar and from royalties paid by licenses

- Application for breeder’s rights is voluntary- Rights are granted on the basis of cultivar distinctiveness,

uniformity and stability.

MARKETING

Marketing of seed is left to:- seed producers’ associations or individual members of an association e.g. in the

case of members of the Zimbabwe Horticulture and Pasture seed association; - Commodity Board and Producer schemes e.g. the Cotton Marketing Board cotton

seed scheme and the coffee Producers’ Association coffee seed scheme; - Private companies- ARDA – Designated a seed certifying agency in 1998,(Most seed sellers/distributors are also producers/multipliers of the seed) COMPONENTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE SEED INDUSTRY:

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1. Agricultural research ( Breeding, and Agronomy )+ Extension.

Plant Breeding Organizations in Zimbabwea) Government –National Breeding Programme.. The Crop Breeding

Institute was established in 1975, in Harare. Government also uses Rattray Arnold research station and ART farm. The Agricultural Commodity Association owns the latter.

b) Statutory Research Boards e.g Tobacco Research Boardc) Private Organizations

- Seed –Co- Pannar –Monsanto- Pioneer Hi-bred International - Cargil- Zimbabwe Sugar Association- Agricultural Seed Services

Which are the other organizations?d) Universities e) IARCs e.g. CIMMYT and ICRISAT

2. Control and Policy3. Seed multiplication and marketing

ESTIMATION OF SEED REQUIREMENTS:

- governed by demand- Local use + export- How many hectares to be planted and the seed rate required.- In the mid to late 1990’s maize hybrid seed sales amounted to 35

000 tonnes/year (both local and export???)- 80- 90% of hectarage in Zimbabwe is under 3-way hybrids and 10-

20% is put to single hybrids To what extent are OPVs being grown by farmers to day? Rex (1984), reported that 1% of maize production (by area) was under OPVs.

HOME GROWN SEED

Advantages :

- Low production cost = relatively cheap seed.- Timely availability

Disadvantages

- reduced varietal purity

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- Farmer does not benefit from released cultivars- Poor physical quality- Poor viability and vigour- Seed borne diseases can increase in farm retained seed e.g. viral

diseases

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEED INDUSTRY IN ZIMBABWE

Evolution of the industry was heavily influenced by the by the South African and North American industries through :

Transfer of genetic materials and breeding methods, the training of scientists and seed technologists in South Africa??/ and through seed trade.

- 1904: Start of scientific breeding – setting up of the Harare Experiment Station following settler farmers’ persuasion

- 1919: Southern Rhodesian Seed Maize Association was formed. It was mandated to produce high quality seed and marketing it.

- 1942: Plant protection Act (restricted importation of seed)

- 1949: Zimbabwe became second country, after U.S.A, to produce double- cross hybrid seed from locally bred inbreds

- 1956: Zimbabwe became a member of the International Seed Test Association (ISTA)ISTA standardizes acceptable requirements to enable global trade.

- 1957: Group of farmers formed the Southern Rhodesia Crop Seeds Association to multiply and market seed of wheat, barley, groundnuts and soyabean.The seed potato Association was formed to bulk potato foundation seed tubers.

- 1960: First commercial single cross hybrid was produced (SR 52) at Harare Experiment Station–World’s commercial. Variety was a success throughout Eastern and Southern Africa.

- 1964: Pasture Seed Association (Pasture legumes and grasses) was formed.

- 1965: Seeds Act

- Between 1965-1973: Seed regulation; Seed Notice

- 1970: Cotton seed scheme initiated by the Cotton Marketing Board.

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- 1972: First local maize variety –Salisbury white.( Hybridization of Hickory king and Boone County white, imported from South Africa and U.S.A

- 1973: Plant Breeders’ rights introduced. Granted breeders exclusive rights to multiply and market varieties, which were proven to be new, distinct, stable and uniform.

- 1980: Coffee Producers’ Association started a coffee seed scheme

After independence government continued to conduct variety development with associations multiplying and marketing the seed

- 1981- Bipartite agreement between government and Crop Seeds Association – the association was given exclusive rights to multiply and market government bred varieties of soya, groundnuts, sorghum, wheat and barley.

- 1982: Seed maize Association and the Crop Seeds Association merged to form the Seed Co-operative Company of Zimbabwe which generated economies of scale and scope of production and marketing. The Co-op could also get tax-exemptions which had been introduced by new socialist government to encourage farming of co-ops. These factors enabled the seed-co to sell seed at a low prices compared to other countries in the region.

- Annual maize hybrid seed sales increased from approximately 10 000t in 1980 to 30 000t by 1990 (Rusike, 1995). This rapid expansion of sales was due to low prices and effective government extension network.

- 1992: Introduction of ESAP liberalization of the seed industry (other players came in).

Seed sales have since risen to 35 000t/year Commercial farmers = 100% adoption rate in use of hybrids Communal farmers > greater than 90% adoption rate which is much

higher than other African countries (Friis-Hansen, 1992). Zimbabwe maize yields have increased by 325% in the past 40 years

(Tattersfield and Havazvidi, 1994). Of this % increase, approximately 40% is due to use of high yielding varieties, the hybrids.

- ZIM INDUSTRY AFTER 1990

Prior to 1990 – monopoly by: 1) seed co-op on maize, soya, sunflower, groundnuts, wheat, barley and sorghum.

2) Tobacco seed association and the Seed Potato Association

Government was very protective of its local industry.

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1990: First foreign entry into the industry. Company jointly owned by Pioneer South and some local farmer. The business was later sold to PANNAR seeds (ZIM).

PANNAR: produces and markets South African bred varieties of hybrid maize, sorghum, sunflower field beans and vegetables.- Also has a breeding program for these crops locally.

Pioneer Hi-bred Seeds (Zim) – wholly owned subsidiary of the American multinational Pioneer Hi-bred International. It has a state of the art seed processing plant commissioned in 1993 for handling hybrid maize seed which it specializes in.- Forty (40%) of its production is for export to S. Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt.

Cargil Hybrid Seeds (Zim) – originally a subsidiary of another American conglomerate Cargil Plc, now acquired by Monsanto Plc.

- It started operating in Zimbabwe in 1991.- Has a research station locally- Specializes in hybrid maize seed (also sunflower, sorghum,

vegetable seeds)- Merged with Carnia Zimbabwe in 1996.

Seed co-op’s market share in hybrid seed market is approximately 95% (Rusike, 1995). Its market share for all crops (cotton, tobacco and potato) is 90-95%.[ Tattersfield and Havazvidi, 1994].

Regional perspective: S.Africa and Zimbabwe are the only countries in Africa, with an advanced seed industry (Rusike ,1995).

N.B: 80-90 % of maize hectarage in Zimbabwe is under 3-way hybrids and 10-20% is put to single hybrids.

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